Fullmetal Alchemist - Chance
by Rosy Metal
Summary: What was supposed to have been a lead for the Elric brothers to get their bodies back turned out to be a horrible trap. With Mustang coming to their aid, will he find the brothers in one piece, or will he find the shattered and broken soul of Edward? Parental Roy Ed. Originally posted on my deviantART. Link on profile. All reviews and favorites are very much appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

Ed hated dealing with problems like this.

Actually, he **loathed** any obstacles that obscured his path when it came to _anything_. This was just a particularly annoying one, but he _did e_njoy what normally followed such occasions.

"I think this should work," he spoke coolly with a confident smile upon his lips as he held out his silver pocket watch that signified that he was a certified alchemist in the military.

The Amestrian soldier standing guard at the site he was assigned to broke out in sweat and fixed his position to stand attention as his _once_ thick, rough voice turned to a nervous, higher pitch and he hastily spat out his words, "I am so sorry! I did not realize you were a State Alchemist, sir."

Edward huffed out a puff with his expression smug and stuffed the watch back into his pocket. "Let's go Al," he said to his younger brother, Alphonse, as he ran past the soldier towards the promising site inside the forest that the Colonel informed them of yesterday afternoon.

"Coming!" The suit of armor rang out loud, voice graced and kind.

Edward slowed to a walk and waited as Alphonse caught up with him.

The day had started off so hopeful and optimistic.

Why did such an ordinary and beautiful morning for the Elric brothers lead to a shattered nightmare?

* * *

Mustang's pen clattered to the desk from his mouth as he began to lose his battle against yet another afternoon nap and procrastination.

Not that he was putting up a fight.

The clock on the corner of his desk dully and slowly ticked in the silence of his office, mocking him and reminding him of just how bored he was.

Today's schedule entailed the usual stacks of paperwork in which his 1st lieutenant was anything but merciful towards when it came to completing and overseeing, and then a mid-afternoon report from Ed.

Roy pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, now aware and reminded of the scheduled debriefing.

Fullmetal was anything but relief in the Colonel's strenuous daily tasks, and in fact was a significant headache inducer. The inclement state of a meeting with Edward was always unpredictable for the adolescent's mood was the factor on how the interaction would be executed, most of the time at least.

Mustang shifted his gaze from the towers of uncompleted and completed paperwork to the pair of couches and the coffee table in front of his desk. He furrowed his brows when he took note of the soft pink and orange glow that cascaded over the a portion of the room, and it was only then that he realized that his naps were longer than he first thought and that the work day was arriving to it's end.

Roy looked to the clock on his desk and it confirmed that it was just about evening, reading the time 5:46 with its hands and roman numeral numbers.

He suspected that he fell asleep around 3 o'clock, missing the meeting with Fullmetal that was scheduled a half hour later.

'Did he even show up?' Colonel thought to himself, 'Tch. Probably not. More than likely just went off and did his own things. Stubborn child.'

Mustang reluctantly completed the remaining documents and files till it was just a little past the half hour of seven and his mind had just about flat-lined. He despised days that were endowed with nothing but signing and writing and reading over and **over**. At least he could keep Lt. Hawkeye off his back when he actually did his work.

His thoughts drifted back to the meeting he **and** Edward missed.

Under normal circumstances, he'd ignore the child's absence and write it off as him being just that, a child, but he was _particularly _bothered by it today as the mission, now that he just recalled it, he had sent him and his brother on was to investigate an unusual alchemical accident, one that might give the brothers a lead or two on restoring their bodies and Edward **always** reported back when it came to those.

Mustang never stopped to think as to why that was, but nonetheless, Ed always came for those, some days even on time.

Perhaps he had left a call? Not that it'd be likely. The Lt. would have informed him, but still...

He pushed himself away from his desk and made his way to the room where his subordinates worked. His gaze fell on the light, yellowed blonde in blue, glad she was still here this much into the evening.

He asked her simply and gingerly, straining to dismiss the sudden worry that pierced his throat, "Lieutenant. Have either of the Elric brothers called and or left a message for me today?"

She answered in her usual protocol tone and matter, her look now shifted from the small stack of work on her desk to his eyes, "No sir. No phone call or message of any type."

Mustang felt a little more panicked than usual by her response. He knew the two boys could handle themselves perfectly well. Edward was too stubborn to lose fights.

The concern that was gradually building up must have shown in his face without his aware for he was startled when the Lt. brought his attention back to her.

"Is something the matter, sir?" she politely asked.

"There was a debriefing scheduled earlier today around the afternoon and he was absent." Roy fixated his tone to be authoritative and curt, as was always of the Colonel.

Havoc, who was the only other person still present, chimed in, "That's nothing new, sir. Boss goes _his_ own way." he spoke calmly, referring to Fullmetal as the nickname he dubbed on him, "Boss."

"I'm well aware, but he'll at least show up when it involves discussing progress on getting his and Al's body back. I gave them a new mission yesterday that they reportedly left for at 6 o'clock this morning to go and investigate the site of an alchemical incident just off the city of Guud. It doesn't take long to travel there."

"Do you suspect something happened to them?" Riza inquired.

"No," he began to say in contradiction to the protests in his mind, "I'm sure Fullmetal and his brother can handle themselves well." he spoke with his curt, baritone voice. It'd be unlike Edward to change his usual way of doings things due to how stubborn he was and he'd only change said routines if it was by his own stubborn decision.

Regardless...

"I'm going to drop by the site anyways, just to see if they're still there and perhaps missed the train."

'That's reason enough to excuse myself.' he thought to himself as he stepped into his office briefly, grabbed his keys and other materials, and shut the lights off before stepping back out.

"Be sure to lock up. I'll give you a call at your home later, Lieutenant Hawkeye, to inform you of what I found."

'Shit happens. I just hope that's **_all_** that could have and **_did_** happen.' he locked his office and walked over to the door that led to the hall.

"Sir." Havoc and Hawkeye replied in unison.

He turned to his two subordinates and wished them a good evening before leaving the room.

When he was at once alone in his car and on the road to Guud he let the thoughts that were a light cloud over his mind earlier flood back to him instantly.

Maybe he was overreacting and letting some sort of parental side that hid inside him dance around his mind, but he couldn't untie the consuming and formidable knots twisting in his stomach as he found it toodiscomforting that Edward didn't at least leave a call.

Roy shouldn't have let it bother him. Edward _was_ a rude, stubborn, and ill-mannered teen. It was rare that he'd call.

He was just being paranoid.

After the uneasy and relatively short drive to and through the city of Guud, Colonel finally arrived to the location of the site which was located at the start of a wide, full forest.

When Roy noted the absence of a night guard posted it only added to his paranoia that was now a pretty decent size.

He exited the car, grabbed and lit a hand lantern that he carried in his trunk, locked the car, and entered the forest with unpleasant thoughts plaguing his mind. He traversed the twig and leaf decorated grass and weaved around trees till he came to the location of what must have been the accident.

Though the darkness around him was thick the moonlight and his lantern allowed him to see a grand hole spreading as about as long maybe eighty to a hundred feet in each direction in front of him.

The depth was unknown, but significantly magnificent. The hole was just short of perfectly sculpted round and from the right angle, bore the shape of a nearly flawless circle. The transmutation markings that surrounded the area affirmed the obvious that alchemy was involved here, but who or what could have caused something so terrifically terrible?

Mustang grabbed a rock about the size of his palm from the ground beside him and tossed it down the hole, deciding to test the depth.

Just as he counted 7 in his head, he finally heard a loud and small thud at the bottom of the hole, not a sound he was expecting as the ground was supposed to be composed of dirt though it sounded like it impacted with _another_ rock.

"Well..." Mustang thought aloud, "Looks like I have no choice. I guess I'm going in."

It was probably in his best interests to at least check to see if either of the brother's could be down there. With no hesitation in his moves, he jumped into the small crater, clutching the lantern to his chest, and landed roughly on the ground with a loud and echoed thud on his feet.

His upper legs and pelvis pained in reaction to the abrupt landing, as was expected, nothing he couldn't tolerate.

He brushed off loose dirt that made its way onto his shoulder and held the lantern close to his face so he could analyze the threshold. The area's floors and walls were as far apart as the surface was.

Alchemical markings were everywhere where Roy walked around inside the hole and he was just about to make the basic transmutation that would carry him to the surface when his attention was suddenly caught by a bright red coat that lay tattered and torn under his feet.

He frantically picked it up and examined it finding, much to his fear, a black flamel cross on the back of the long coat. It was **Edward's** coat.

More inspection led to wear a dark maroon stained and gashed hole on the bright red jacket right were his left shoulder would be. Blood...?

Before Mustang could let any horrific scenarios that might have played out sink in his mind, a blunt blow was stricken to the back of his head.

His vision glazed and he tried to turn to identify his assaulter, but instead collapsed to the ground beneath him. The lantern he held fell in front of his shivering face and he saw blurred and booted steps approach him before the world finally blackened and consciousness slipped away from his grasp.


	2. Chapter 2

Pools of fresh light poured into Mustang's mind as he finally gained his own conscious back.

Along with an ache piercing his entire head.

"Brother!" _'was that... Alphonse...?'_ "He's awake! Look!"

"Colonel! Colonel!" _'Edward...?'_

His mind was in a swirl of dazes and his vision finally cleared as he awoke and realized he was laid across a wooden floor. He sat up straight with a yawn and stretch, and involuntarily attempted to move one of his legs towards himself but was almost immediately met with resistance. He rubbed his eyes and looked to the cuffs that were around his legs and the chains attached that protruded from the crevices of the floor beneath.

His mind began to panic.

A fire flickered in a stove at the corner of the room, and the walls were covered in various tools and such, mainly a variety of knives. One metal table sat against a wall and one in the middle of the medium sized room. There was a sharpening tool atop the middle table and a rigid saw, and Mustang's stomach began to do back-flips inside itself, feeling very much like the subject of a cheesy horror movie. Above all, there was an absence of windows.

"Colonel Mustang, are you injured?" Alphonse's caring voice punctured the vile air again and brought Roy's attention to the metal table that sat against the wall on the opposite end of the room where atop was Alphonse's body but limbs separated, torso centerpiece.

_'How did I not notice that before?'_

"What the hell were you thinking coming here?! Are you a dumb ass?!" Edward snarled and scolded from the wall left adjacent to Roy, just a few feet away.

Any ounce of relief that could dampen his caring spirit's distraught was purged as the weight of the brother's conditions settled roughly on his shoulders.

Edward's left arm was attached to the ceiling by a thick rope where he basically was held dangling about a foot high in the air by just thatone arm, his automail arm and leg located where Al's limbs were along with his pocket watch from what Mustang could see. If that alone wasn't enough, the boy's golden hair was in a disheveled mess accented with dirt and red stains, his clothes were torn in multiple places and the lower half of his left pant leg was ripped completely off and there were clear cuts and bruises decorating the boy's skin, but the one that was simply the bittersweet icing on top of this fucking fantastic cake was the alarming gash across his chest. Roy was hardly cogent that it wasn't infected by now.

What the hell happened to these boys...?

"Is that a way to address your generous superior officer, Fullmetal?" no matter the concern that overwhelmed his heart at the moment, he knew none of it would be acceptable to Edward at the moment and the supercilious Colonel couldn't chip his pride, "I should be asking you what the hell you're still doing here."

"You don't even know where **here** is." Ed bitterly snipped.

"I'm going to guess some remote cabin house deep in the woods." Roy spat his words back. The frustration from Ed's obnoxious, rude manners was still an infinite and immutable factor that rang in his voice.

"Like **that's** any better than what we're aware of!"

Mustang looked to Edward, and although the fire lit in the room barely provided a sufficient amount of light he could still see Fullmetal's fiery gaze that looked right at him with violent intent. Those fires burned even brighter as he yelled, "Now answer my question! What in fuck's name are you doing here?!"

Colonel sat silent and kept his glare as the golden irises kept theirs and it was then that he could have sworn that he saw something flicker in them before they dissolved and the boy hung his head low.

"I want you to tell me what happened to you two." Colonel demanded, despite ignoring Edward's angered interrogative like a stubborn child.

Just like Ed was.

Alphonse carefully spoke up yet again, "We were just investigating around the site like you assigned us to. Observing the location and what not... But suddenly, when my guard was down, I heard a loud clink and Edward yell yards away. When I went to go see what had happened, his automail leg had been severed and-"

"And a mysterious man dressed in black whose face was hidden behind a mask jumped down from the tree that he hid in after assaulting me and stripped Alphonse of his limbs. Al barely even got a chance to fight back, which meant the man had obvious skills in order to beat Alphonse with little effort... And then the last thing I remember out there was him delivering a blow to my head, then I woke up here and the man... He-he began to..."

Colonel nearly froze as the pained voice resonated through out the cold atmosphere. He... He had never **seen** or **heard** such a cracked and sorrowed sound from the boy, not even when he found them after they tried to bring back their mother.

He also noted that Edward neglected to say that there had been a fight put up, meaning the injuries to Ed were inflicted when he was**helpless.**

The chills of the room suddenly faded from Mustang as his blood began to boil.

There was no inch of him that wanted to get to know this mystery man any one bit. If this death-lusting man came back to them, and Roy knew that he would, he'd send him straight to hell. Who could stomach torturing children? What kind of sick, sadistic person had such capabilities?

Roy reached for his pocket watch in his jacket, and soon realized that he too was stripped of that.

He angrily pressed his face into his hands and felt his headache throb against the warm skin of his fingers...

_'Wait... Skin...?'_

He pulled his head away from his hands and saw that they were bare instead of gloved with his ignition gloves.

What a wonderful evening this was turning out to be.

"Yeah, he took your gloves and incinerated them." Edward spoke softly with a hitch at the word 'he.'

Mustang sat perplexed in the darkness. A voice normally so strong-hearted and enthusiastic shouldn't sound like **that**...

He looked up to the boy who was staring off blankly to the floor. His eyes were glazed over, his face blank but his demeanor and body language tortured, at least when he had been angry at the Colonel there had been life in his eyes.

Above all, Roy was upset at himself for being completely **useless** and unable to help the two boys. He felt guilt wash over him for not being able to better keep his subordinate protected. He loathed that he lacked the ability to spark life into his dulled, glassy, golden eyes.

"Don't stare at me like **that**." Ed said firmly.

Mustang realized he was still looking over Ed. He was willing to bet that his troubling emotion was showing on his face. How careless of him.

"Who's ready to **play** again~?"

Roy's skin crawled and his bones chilled. That voice sounded so... So sickening.

Ed suppressed a soft whimper.

The door located to the table next to Alphonse swung open and the masked man stepped out, the cold night glistening behind him.

His entire body was clothed in black while his face was completely hidden under a frightening mask. It's base was black as well, but across the eyes and lips was what Mustang hoped was smeared red paint. The mouth on the mask frowned and the eyes bore a sorrowful shape. The man had a deranged voice and stride about him as he plucked a knife off a shelf that held various small knives and sang to himself while he walked towards Fullmetal.

"Ohhhh~! Red, sweet and luscious~! A maroon delight so intoxicating and riveting to the eyes~!" the man sang fiendishly, "Why don't you know, my dear alchemist? Add a touch of red to anything and it automatically looks more beautiful in every way!" he proclaimed with a smile in his voice, even if it was unseen.

He roughly gripped Edward's damaged face in his bare, rigid hand. "Have you made acquaintances with our new **toy**?"

Despite his arms being free, Mustang's legs were kept tightly to the ground and he couldn't seem to lunge at the man and introduce a healthy fist to his masked face.

"Tell me, Flame Alchemist."

_'How does he know who I am?' _

"What do you think it takes to break this young and tainted soul? He barely screamed when I plunged the first knife I've ever owned, with a blade so dirty and dull, down and across his chest. I can only get a facial expression and grunt if I make simple, fine cuts on his precious skin..." He pressed the ceramic and unevenly edged knife into Edward's cheek, evoking drops of red and a grimace with a light hiss from him.

Man, this bastard was pushing what **very** little luck he had.

Mustang heard a soft groan leave from the broken suit of armor as Edward swallowed the pain.

"I can't seem to get any~ tears out of him, and his unique brother brings me no pleasure." he pressed the knife deeper into the boy's face eliciting another soft hiss as crimson began to steadily flow out of his face, "He was rather annoying the first 2 hours, crying every time I laid a finger on his defenseless older brother. So what did I do? I threatened the armored boy to kill his brother **slowly **and **intimately** in front of him if he didn't shut up and of course, he complied." the voice danced a wicked number in the air and left chills in Roy's bones with every word the man said with crisp annunciation.

_'What the hell is wrong with this psycho?'_

Mustang felt the bitter air in his lungs escape as he was suddenly pushed back down to the ground by the man's foot.

"Colonel!" Alphonse's voice screamed.

He immediately wrapped his hands firmly around the man's ankle and attempted to knock him down to the ground but was halted by the man's words of threat.

"Nuh uh uh~," his twisted voice sang, "If you manage to inflict any harm to me," he pointed the blood dripping knife to Edward's head, "I won't hesitate once to end his poor life. You wouldn't want that would you?"

Why why why? **Why**?

Mustang yelped as the man stomped his foot into his chest yet again and dug his heel deep down. The insanity drenched man's demeanor didn't quake once.

"That's why you're special and have your hands free. Should you harm me or manage to escape, **you** would ultimately be the Fullmetal Alchemist's **assailant.** Wouldn't want that hanging over your head, now would you? The undeniably irresistible temptation to manipulate the freedom of your hands will always be present, yet if you act on it, someone who's close and precious **dies.** Isn't it a delightful story? Unless you **don't care** what actually happens to this damaged soul." he removed his foot from the Colonel's chest and bellowed a thick and levity stricken laugh.

Mustang shuddered and felt his hands shake against himself as he clutched his chest in agony. **That's why** his hands were free. Every emphasized word of artifice the man breathed weighed heavy on the his being.

"Sorry to tease, my darling alchemist," he began with his banter again as he walked back over to Edward, "But the evening grows late and I need my beauty sleep~!"

"Then I'm sure we won't see you ever again..." Edward spoke in a low, truculent voice.

"Oh! Why must you be so mean? You know you enjoy my company! Goodnight my lovely toys, we'll play again tomorrow~! Maybe you won't break too soon. I'd hate to have to go out and get new ones."

The perfidious man threw the knife to the wall above and behind Mustang, and finally left the three in a malevolent silence as his ominous laughter faded.

Mustang felt like sinking lower into the ground than he already was.

The man had confirmed what Mustang neglected to ask the boys as soon as he woke up, that it indeed was late into the evening. He felt like a fool for he was certain he was worrying the Lt. with having yet to make his phone call to her.

Roy shot up himself up.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked, confusion in his shaken voice.

"The Lt... " he breathed lowly and heavily, chest still aching from being pushed on roughly, "She knows that I came here. I told her I'd call her before the evening was too late to report what I found when I came here to see if you guys were sa- er, still here." Mustang amended his statement, hoping Ed wouldn't notice.

Perhaps it was an far-fetched assumption, but he felt Fullmetal would depreciate his weakness and candor.

He saw that flicker in Edward's face again before the boy spoke in a raised and angry voice, "So, what? Are we supposed to just wait till she comes here? What if she doesn't?"

He could never drop his cynical ways, could he?

"Just forget I said anything!" Mustang snapped as he threw himself back to the ground with a pained thud, deciding that his head hurt too much to endure an argument with the boy.

"Brother..." Alphonse began to speak,

"Just drop it, Al." but Edward abruptly cut him off, hanging his head low once again.

_'Just a few hours...'_ Mustang thought to himself.

He looked down to his chest and saw specks of dirt and pebbles all over his military jacket, most likely from the man's boot.

He swept it off himself, off the flap of his jacket, and the pins and chords that sat on said jacket... then he stopped.

He ran his finger tips over the metal jump ring that held the yellow chord to his jacket, then, in almost an instant, something converged together in his head.

He ripped the ring off his coat and sat himself up once more. He began to bend the difficult metal to where an end jutted out roughly. He then reached down to his feet and began carving into the wooden floor beneath.

"What are you doing?" Edward asked. Mustang glanced up to see him staring down to where his hands were cultivating.

_'Finally making __**use**__ of myself.'_

He completed the basic alchemy transmutation circle, and with a sweat bead sliding down his face, he pressed his shaky palms to the wooden surface.

Power from the earth surged and flowed through Colonel's body and out of his hands as blue electrical energy clouded the vicinity of the circle and wooden floor where he was.

The cuffs hugging his ankles became enveloped in the energy then at once briefly constricted before breaking apart into small metal blocks that softly fell to the floor. Can't deny how convenient basic alchemy is.

Roy skulked about to Edward, he had no doubt in his mind that the man could have very well detected that use of alchemy. He was prancing through a dangerous minefield and it would be just his luck that the man was too far to feel the subtle and faint vibrations. The lack of windows helped in the sense that the kidnapper wouldn't have been able to see electrical glows.

Gripping the knife that was carelessly thrown to the wall where Mustang laid in front of, he began to saw away at the rope that held Edward hostage.

Not even as Roy was cutting the damned rope meaning a possible escape for the three was enough to bring life to Edward's demeanor.

Perhaps Roy was dwelling too hard. Edward's body was likely fatigued and sore from all the inflicted wounds, but that in itself was a pathetic excuse. Ed held more strength and conviction in that tiny body of his than Mustang could ever think of or imagine. Even as half of his body was stripped from him and blades pierced his skin, he had no tears shining in his eyes or no quiver in his body. How could a boy be so mature and strong-willed? No matter how much his mind subconsciously categorized him as an adolescent, he scarcely ever referred to Fullmetal as anything but an adult. He carried himself with much more maturity and wisdom than an average adult could handle, and he possessed skills far more admirable and astonishing than any other man or woman Mustang had met. It was so easy to let it slip from his mind that Ed was only**fifteen.**

Edward looked up to him when the knife was halfway through the rope and Mustang briefly held a gaze to his pale face.

It always obscured his soul every time his eyes had met a blood drenched body in the Ishvalan Civil War and even more so a **child's** body, yet no matter how much that still freshly sat in his mind to this day, the thick scarlet that stained Edward's blank face pierced the Colonel's heart without resolution.

It was angering him that Fullmetal wasn't showing any emotion towards becoming free. Something **else** must have happened, otherwise he wouldn't be this way.

_'Why does he look so lifeless? I've never wanted to slap him more than right now, not even when he had pricked at me for being useless in the rain. His dull eyes piss me off so much.'_

Fury lurked in Mustang's thoughts and fury swirled on his skin.

Why was he **so angry?** Wasn't he **finally** helping?

When the rope was at last cut through, Roy held his arms out to catch Edward in his arms, unable to walk on his own without his limbs, yet he nearly lost his balance as Ed's weight was barely being held up on it's own and he fell into Colonel.

"Fullmetal, I can't hold you up by myself." he harshly spoke, voice more raised than he had expected, "You've got to support yourself."

Edward straightened himself to have his arm grip Mustang's right shoulder, and he balanced himself on his leg, showing no mercy and using all of Colonel's weight to his favor.

"I don't remember asking you for your help." Ed said with poor venom.

_'Damned stubborn brat.'_

"Well that sounds like a personal problem." Mustang harshly spoke in response to Ed's childish trait.

He carefully placed Edward against the wall and sat him down gently, grateful for the apparent lack of wounds to his back.

He walked to the table where Alphonse and Ed's limbs laid.

"Once Fullmetal's fixed, we'll help put you back together." he spoke with fake kindness to the younger Elric, grabbing the arm and leg.

Alphonse muttered a soft 'hmmm,' "Thank you, Colonel."

He feigned a smile in response to the gratitude, feeling anything but worthy of thanks.

He bent down on his knees in front of Edward, placing the leg to his side and holding out the heavy automail arm to him. "Come on, we have to help your brother." he spoke lightly.

When Ed sat there and made no attempt to take his limbs from Mustang it pushed his patience further away from his control and he began to snap.

"Come on, Fullmetal, why are you just sitting there?" he began to yell, done with the unreadable look that sat on his damaged face, "Don't you wanna leave? What's your problem?"

He, to no surprise, set off a trap with his frustrated tone. Ed's face contorted to a scowl.

"What's **your** problem?!Why are you being so impatient? I don't need you to yell at me and tell me what to do!" Edward yelled with more irritation and volume in his voice than Colonel's, his eyes burning bright.

"Damn it! Why are you such a stubborn child? You forget your place, Fullmetal. I am your superior officer, and you'll heed to my words so that we can all leave here alive."

"Why are you pretending to care so much? It's not like you could give two shits if Alphonse and I came back alive or not!"

Colonel's heart sunk to the floor.

"Why would you say **that?** What makes you think I don't?" his voice showed more pain than he would have liked to have let leak in front of Edward and he saw his golden eyes and face slightly soften.

"Just forget I said anything." Edward's low voice spoke.

"Ed..." Alphonse's innocent voice chimed, obviously left out of the conversation. Edward ignored him.

Colonel hated arguing with boy, especially in this state. He wanted to take his anger out on himself, not Ed.

He was angry at **himself.** It was **his** fault they were there. Intentional or not, he was the reason they were in such a mess and he couldn't ration a single reason that didn't say otherwise.

Mustang held the boy's arm out to him once again.

Edward reluctantly took the limb in his other arm, clutching it to his chest.

Roy didn't like how quickly Ed had given up on that fight. The child was normally so brash and persistent towards anything, rarely ever opting to give up, and the ghostly sadness that glazed his eyes finally plucked away the last straw of Mustang's bundle.

"Edward..." he began to scrupulously speak with soft care, not wanting to start another fight, "Something else seems to be troubling your mind. Care to share?"

There was discomforting silence that plagued the area for minutes till Fullmetal finally hung his head low and murmured softly, "I'm not worthy." emotion coiled around those three words like the Colonel had never heard before.

Did such raw and pained words actually just come out of his mouth? Edward Elric's mouth? Did he actually open up to Mustang? Why was his tone so broken and rasped? This was not Fullmetal. He never... **broke.**

He raised his head and lightly laughed with a sad smile on his lips before he continued, "It's like God or whoever's been toying with our lives wants to see Al and I suffer endlessly. I thought we paid enough with our bodies. Hell, only half of mine was taken, but Alphonse's entire physical existence was robbed of him in accordance with equivalent exchange." his voice voice slightly trembled and weakened as he spoke his next words, "If no mercy for me, than why not my brother? I want his **solitude** to **vanish**... I want **to** **make it **go away... And I want to cleanse the unseen tears of his soul, but I'm not even worthy of a **chance** to give him that... Alphonse suffers because of my sin tainted soul..." he hanged his head low once again, his hands quivering against his chest and shuddered sobs escaping his lungs.

"That's not true, brother. I was there. I made the decision just like you. We'll get both of our bodies back. That's a promise." Alphonse said with protest, but even that did nothing to lift the broken child's face.

Mustang cast all the reasons along with his pride that said not to do what he planned to aside and pulled Edward into a tight embrace. The action cause Ed to drop his arm and he froze in the Colonel's arms, no doubt surprised by such an act.

Roy had no right to comfort the boy. Sending Ed on this mission was the only reason as to why he felt so much pained emotion, but he couldn't help the instinct that said to hold him. He didn't care if he'd be scrutinized for it later, he just wanted to **fix** the damaged boy.

Edward reluctantly, but nonetheless finally wrapped his arm around Mustang's back and his chest elicited quivering breaths as tears poured out onto the Colonel's shoulders.

He gave in so easily. His emotion raveled around him and flowed thick in the air. He must have really been straining under such stress to break to the point of relentlessly easing into Roy's arms.

Mustang said no words because nothing appropriate came to his mind. He deemed that he had no right in that sense either as he was partly responsible for all the stress that weighed heavy on Edward's soul. He let the silence that washed over them bring solace.

He'd never consider himself venial for being part of Ed's tears, but he'd redress now and finally be there for him like he should have long ago and let the deprived boy sojourn in his open arms.

Though he'd never atone for his lack of sensitivity, Roy could **at least **do that much.

And so he knelt there on the wooden floor and let his subordinate cry into his frame, one gentle hand on the middle of Edward's back and one resting at his head. The room filled with nothing but the sound of the fire still crackling in the corner and muffled sobs of agony.

Until two back-to-back gun shots in the distance broke the tender moment.


	3. Chapter 3

_"The more we hurt in the moments we touch, the clearer things become."_

* * *

Unrecognizable.

That's what usually happens when you're to the point of breaking. You become warped, coiled in a drastic twist of emotions that envelope your entire being, yet Edward felt beyond that somehow. Undefinable and immutable pain that **almost** felt like the time in his life when he and his brother tried to resurrect their mom. He couldn't recognize what even broke his being anymore.

Maybe it was the unsophisticated lacerations and carvings lathered on his body.

Maybe it was the excruciating pain that threatened with darkness upon his conscious.

Maybe it was the total feeling of **failure** in his soul.

His body just felt stiff, lifeless almost at the Colonel's embrace. His emotions were so raw and unstable as it was, he couldn't give in, but despite every Edward Elric instinct the boy felt inside of him, he couldn't contain the bittersweet tears that dripped from his face, and he relented into the comforting hold.

How could he be so weak? And... Why was Mustang **holding** him?

Ed never thought he would deserve Roy's comfort and support. Never ever ever ever.

_'He gave me the offer I could have never received without him. He endowed upon me a __**chance**__ that no one else was capable of endowing. I have yet to make up for that unexpected generosity, so why does he gift me with more? That's not damn equivalency being exchanged. Why is he such a fucking moron...'_

In all honesty, it pissed Edward off how invading the Colonel was being, but his body was damaged, and his spirit and sense of pride had been long lost. He didn't care that the gash across his chest burned with unpleasant stings, and he didn't care that he was now crying in the arms of his superior, he was finally at his limit, ashamed as he was for having one.

It was never fair that Edward had always selfishly and rudely pushed Colonel away, but it never dented his demeanor seeing as Mustang didn't seem to mind it.

The Colonel is always so damn irritating. Teasing and frustrating without resolve, like a tornado tearing through the land, yet Edward isn't so innocent in that sense either. They were in a continuous cycle. That's how their "friendship" worked... Yet that barrier at this moment was gone.

Ed knew deep in him that this would be the **last** time this would happen if he could help it. His body and soul ached as he gave in to the shuddering sobs and groans and he tightened his grip on Mustang's coat. The Colonel hugged him tighter in response. Edward relished in the comfort... Then he nearly jumped out of his skin as a thought crossed his mind.

Was this what it was like to be held by a **father?**

Mustang could **never** know that his hold on him evoked that thought.

Then, just like a snap of the fingers, his mind awoke from it's daydream and he registered two gunshots that sounded a small distant away from the cabin.

"Lieutenant." Mustang said and pulled back slightly from Edward, now looking him in the eyes, "I'm going to go see if she needs help." Colonel stood straight up and paused. For a moment, he looked puzzled, then he reluctantly took off his coat and awkwardly draped it over Ed's shoulders.

Red hues went across both of their faces.

"Stay here." Roy spoke with a stern calmness.

Edward felt all sorts of weird and a little, just a little warm. Not from the coat, but from the gesture. He didn't like it. Mustang's not supposed to act like a father, no matter how much Ed secretly appreciated it.

_'I'm supposed to support myself. My weight is my own burden to carry. I don't__** need**__ his comfort...'_

Colonel's words hung in the bitter air. "Stay here? Fuck that." He huffed.

Without a moment's hesitation, he held his right arm with his left and connected the ports together. His nerves strained and tightened and he suppressed a scream. It felt like his arm was being exposed to an extreme mixture of hot and cold. He always hated when his limbs connected. He did the same to his leg and, with a shake in his step, stood himself up, and re-positioned the Colonel's coat onto himself, putting his arms through the sleeves.

Edward was aching everywhere and it felt strenuous to just walk over to the table where Alphonse was.

"You ready?" He asked his brother.

"Are you sure you have the energy, Brother?" Al said with worry lathered across his tone.

He gripped his younger brother's left arm, glancing at the red cross painted on the bicep. "Of course I can Al."

It didn't matter how much his body begged for rest, he was going to make things right. It wasn't Alphonse's job, and it wasn't Mustang's. It was his alone.

Nothing was going to lift that burden off his arrogant shoulders.

* * *

Oh it seemed like luck was not in Mustang's favor.

No, it was an evil construct sitting in a throne toying with him like a sick child.

The tips of his raven hair were just barely nipped by a smooth blade as he dodged the deranged man's attacks, barely able to see him coming with just the moon's bright light illuminating the sky.

How was it that he was graced with his unnerving captor's presence rather than the pleasing Lieutenant's? He could have **sworn** he heard gunshots.

_'I know for a fact I heard shots fired. This man hardly seems like the type to have reason for owning a gun... So where did they come from?"_

"You should know better than to run away," That bastard had the nerve to speak, "Not only are you going to be punished, but that Fullmetal child is most certainly going to experience the taste of death once you've served your punitive torment."

Mustang ran backwards into a tree behind him, leaving him several feet away from the man who now stood still. "Where did those gunshots come from?" He demanded curtly. He had no patience left in any inch of him to deal with this man any longer.

"Oh, those? What an annoyance." He clucked his tongue casually, "Some pretty little blonde got a tad too nosy. We had a disagreement which led to two attempted shots at me, obviously failed, and a knife or two in her right shoulder." He said coolly.

Oh hell. This man had two death wishes.

"Where is she?!" Colonel yelled.

"I dunno. Probably bleeding out somewhere."

"Tell me now, dammit!" _'What the hell? That's yet __**another**__ person I've failed to protect! What's wrong with me?!'_

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to put thoughts of a crippled Edward wrapped in his coat at bay. When it came down to all the irrational thoughts, one stood above the others.

That it's **his** fault he's hurt.

"Why would I do that~?" The masked man sang, no doubt a smile dancing on his lips.

He lunged towards Roy, his knife gripped and aimed for his face. Colonel ducked and stuck his leg out to trip the man, but he had incredible speed and jumped to back. Mustang readied himself for another attack to his head. He attempted to knock the knife out of the lunatic's hand, but the air in his lungs was knocked out of him and then some as a knee was dug deep into his chest.

Roy's body crumbled down to his knees. He clutched his chest, it wasn't made to handle two powerful blows like that.

The man crouched down in front of him and grasped Mustang's chin in his gloved hands. "Am I not allowed to gussy up that pretty face of yours with my trimmer? It wants to make you look prettier!" His sadistic voice bellowed.

"Colonel!"

**Edward.**

"Fullmetal!" Mustang yelled, his voice nearly cracking. Ed peered right into his vision, automail limb a sword and he was lunging towards the man. Roy's body was dripping with a concoction of relief and merciless concern. It's good that Edward was able to move, but he was sure that he was in no condition to. He couldn't get a good look at it, but he was sure that the gash across Edward's chest was undoubtedly infected or beginning to become so. Some irritating part of him wanted to slap Ed senseless and more so for endangering himself so recklessly and irresponsibly. Honestly, did he ever worry his mother like this when they were younger?

The clinking of metal, the vocalized strains, the sounds of the forests, they all faded away.

Had he ever thought of Edward like his son before? Perhaps his reasonable concern for the Elric brothers and a sense of parental tendencies coincide with one another. The thought seemed so intrusive and foreign, but also right and appropriate given the circumstances, and yet... He never deserved such privileging thoughts. It's still his fault the boys were in this situation. His fault that when came down to it, when they had first met, it was an opportunity to step up in the ranks. A stepping stone. A pathetic strand of hope to manipulate. Sure, some humane part of him truly thought the Elric had talent that could be useful in the military, how could you not think so of an 11 year old boy performing human transmutation and **surviving**, not to mention bonding a soul to a suit of armor, regardless of those facts, he was still a pawn in his game then. He was **hardly** that now.

_'Tch. More like a foolish knight.'_

"Damn it! Colonel!" Ed yelled with an irritated coated voice, clearly in need of help. Before Mustang could gather back his surroundings another voice echoed, screaming his name and Edward's.

"Colonel! Edward!" The cry was followed by gunshots.

Roy watched as the masked man fell before Edward's feet. He clutched his chest harder as the Lieutenant came into his view, scarcely able to make out the crimson glistening on her shoulder in the moonlight... Her shoulder.

Ed fell to his knees, exasperated and exhausted, struggling for breath. It was a short battle he fought, but his frail body most likely made it feel as if he had been fighting for years. "Thank you... Lieutenant." He barely managed out.

"No problem," Hawkeye spoke with that always calmed tone of hers, Mustang always wondered how it was such a simple task for her to remain calm in situations like this, "Where's Alphonse?" She inquired.

"I- agh, that's not... So smooth- I uh, left him... On the table where... He was. Don't worry... He's fine." He said with just the slightest smile on his face that didn't look forced.

Mustang wasn't so happy about the Elric exerting himself when he shouldn't have been, but when he saw that smile on his face, he couldn't help but feel relief. The small joke Ed made at himself with that endearing smile he always wore when he knew things would be alright, even if everyone else was panicking like chickens with their heads cut off. It was normal of him. As far as Mustang could tell, Edward should never and **would** never have tears on his face if he could help it, and he would if he had to. Roy could hardly stand seeing the boy like that. It was unnerving and alien-like to him. He needed to quit growing so fast...

Colonel sighed as he looked up to the stars in the sky, admiring their constant beauty and brightness, a sad smile painting across his features._'Yet another thought his mother must have had.'_


	4. Chapter 4

_"For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been!'" - John Greenleaf Whittier._

* * *

"So, we're just gonna assume that he was the one behind the large alchemical crater. There are no clues pointing anywhere else." Colonel's dry, authoritative tone spoke.

"Kay. That seems reasonable." Ed agreed, brushing his golden bangs behind his ears, slouching back against the hospital bed with a sigh, undoubtedly relieved that the protocol had reached it's end.

Mustang, seated to Edward's left, closed the manila folder in his hands and dropped it on the stack of various folders and paperwork to his side. He was also glad the procedure was completed and stated so by propping his elbows on his knees and dropping his face into his hands with an audible sigh. Paperwork was always so dull.

"Colonel?"

Roy looked up to meet Edward's gaze, "What?"

Ed's eyes narrowed as he began, "How come you aren't all bandaged up like me? Could've sworn that guy at least cracked a rib or two of yours." He said with a smirk and light chuckle.

_'Teasing, huh?'_

Sure, his chest was repeatedly stomped on, but all that was left was aches and a few bruises. Nothing pain meds can't help, but Mustang more than welcomed the picking from the elder Elric.

**That** was better than seeing bitter tears, wasted blood, and broken cries.

"Well, Fullmetal."

_'Not about to skip a beat.'_

"What I would like to know is, why do you **still** have my coat?" He said with a smirk deliciously painted on his face. He was fully aware that Ed still had it draped over his shoulders and though maybe premature, he couldn't hold that inquiry in any longer.

As if by reflex Edward's hands tightened around the coat surrounding his shoulders which barely elicited shock from the Colonel before it was shoved in his face.

"You can keep it for now, if you want." Mustang suggested with a devious smile. _'What was that? Did Ed __**want**__ to keep it?'_

"Just take it, you idiot." Ed huffed with a vein threatening to burst on his forehead.

Victory once again, but that sweet taste soon went sour as Roy took the coat from Ed and thought of how he came to be in possession of that very military coat; When Edward had broken down in front of him.

That parental part of him wanted to wrap Ed in it once more.

He set the coat on his lap and shifted in his seat uncomfortably as his mind began to wander to what **exactly** triggered him to just... fall apart. Edward never broke, never cried, not even after the Tucker and Nina incident. Not a single tear was shed, further proving just how...**stubborn** he was. How **strong** his little body was. How **stubborn** he was to push every ounce of **strength** his small body had to be the rock in his family's life. Almost sacrificing his life to Scar so that his little brother may keep living on, not that Alphonse had approved of that at the time.

This child who had seen hell years ago and moved forward on his own decision for his brother, enduring automail surgery and military life at such a young age, trekking through a journey to getting his and his little brother's bodies back, a journey culled from sin and sitting across a river of crimson sacrifice... what was it that finally broke his resolve back there? To make him lose his composure and identity? Did he just finally buckle under the tower of stress and pressure that had been gradually layering over his shoulders all this time? Maybe he could only deal with **so** many leads to getting their body backs being a waste of time and failure. Maybe even he has his limits.

Though Colonel naively wished otherwise.

During times like these, you wonder about their lives and how _it might have been _if they hadn't of lost their bodies.

* * *

_"Mother is the name of God on the lips and hearts of all children." - Eric Draven - The Crow._

* * *

Splashing cold water on his face always cooled Mustang's nerves, and that was what was needed. Perhaps he was just thinking too hard, dwelling too much on what occurred back in the woods, after all, no matter the extreme amount of strength he held, Edward still was human. He is still capable of just **breaking **like any other person.

But Mustang's mind was still plagued with the heart-wrenching scene and he inwardly cringed at the word **broken.**

Roy reached his hand out to Fullmetal's door in front of him but paused as he caught a certain bit of a conversation between Edward and Alphonse.

"But, Al..."

"Brother, it's not just **your** burden to bear! Like I said before, I was there and I made the decision to do it too! We're **both** going to get **our**bodies back!"

**_"Alphonse suffers because of my sin tainted soul..."_**

That was the last thing Edward had said back in that soulless cabin before Mustang couldn't bare it any longer and pulled him into an embrace.

Although an invasion of privacy, Mustang hovered closer to the door, paying no mind to the stares of onlooking staff and visitors.

If Alphonse had a body, his face would display irritation and veins would be throbbing on his forehead.

"What happened to what Mrs. Hughes said about moving forward and not giving up?" Al's young voice echoed loudly against the armor, manifesting the anger that his metal body couldn't, "Don't you remember what I said back when we first fought Scar? I won't allow you to abandon the possibility of hope a-"

"Dammit! When did I say I was giving up?" Edward slightly grimaced at the ache in his chest but nonetheless kept yelling. "I've never thought even once about giving up since then!"

The short silence that thickened air was nerve-wracking till Ed spoke in that soft, sorrowful tone that he had, "You can't tell me that you're not tired of having everything **break** in front of us."

There was that word again.

"Who am I even kidding, Al. We should have known that the legend of the Philosopher's Stone was too good to be true. We should have known that we weren't Gods, that we couldn't bring Mom back, that we're only humans who couldn't even save a little girl."

**_"I thought we paid enough with our bodies."_**

"Al, I'm never going to give up on getting your body back. Don't ever think I will. We're doing this together. We've got to keep moving, heh, after all, there are people waiting for the day we do." Edward finished, with a soft smile on his face and his right hand fisted. Maybe he is becoming less cynical.

Alphonse let a small chuckle escape and bumped his large hand to his older brother's, "Right."

Mustang let a soft smile make home on his face. Their bond has always been strong and impervious, and it effortlessly warmed many hearts of any who beheld it.

"Hey, Al?"

"Yeah?"

"I know we've never believed in religion or had any God to look up to when we were younger but I did look to one person..."

"Mom?"

Edward looked down to his automail hand, observing the small scratches and dents and smiled a genuine smile, "Yeah."

"Me too, brother."

Ed's always been so determined and stubborn. Nothing was gonna keep him from completing his journey. Roy almost felt silly for pondering so hard before on the boy's situation, trying desperately to figure him out just as he did with military cases. Not even his own ambition filled actions would keep the boy from moving forward.

"You should thank the Colonel when he gets back."

Mustang's ears perked up at the mention of his rank and he heard the boy scoff, "No way. That bastard'll just say that I owe him a favor afterwards."

"Brother..." The younger Elric began to chastise.

If Roy was in any other situation he maybe would've said just that, but in light of recent events, he wouldn't have been able to accept the boy's gratitude. Of course, he'd find some way to later peeve the shrimp off with insults and the such of their routine, but now was the time to be grateful that Fullmetal hadn't shut down like he did when Nina was murdered, that he didn't lose his life due to Roy assigning that mission to him, and that Ed didn't blame him for any of it.

Mustang leaned himself against the wall outside the door. Perhaps he would never stop blaming himself and his selfish desires of the past to be apart of the Elric's suffering, but it didn't mean he'd be easier on Edward. No justice would be served if Roy tried to do so **again**. Although he tried to keep the death of Hughes from them before like they were children, after all the hell they've been through, it'd be foolish to treat the boy like a child when he had a heart stronger than a grown man.

Mustang let himself smile as a thought came to mind.

_'If there's such a thing as heaven and hell, then surely his mother would be residing in heaven and watching her two boys grow with a weary smile on her face.'_

**The End**


End file.
